Valentine's White Chocolate Cookies

from thepioneerwoman.com

Yay for Valentine's Day!! Yay for this holiday to excuse any indulgences in chocolate-related treats or heart-shaped edibles.  It's love day, and I'm going to enjoy it.  And these cookies will make the day even better, promise!

 I N G R E D I E N T S

--2 1/2 sticks softened butter

--2 cups sugar

--2 cups flour

--2 eggs

--1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

--1 tsp. salt

--3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

--1 tbsp. vanilla

--1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (i used mini ones)

--2 cups white chocolate chips

--Valentine's M&Ms, for cookie tops

 --Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer, dump in the softened butter.

 --Add the sugar, and mix it on medium speed until it creams together.

 --Like this.

--Then, with a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it another mix.

 --Perfect.

 --Next, crack in two eggs, beating each one at a time until combined.

 --Add a tablespoon of vanilla,

 --And mix until it's all combined.

 --In a separate large bowl with a sifter, combine the flour and cocoa powder,

 --And to it add baking soda,

 --And salt.

 --Sift these ingredients, and this will help the texture of the cookies to be light and fluffy!

 --Now in batches of about 1/2--1 cup, add this to the butter mixture with the mixer on low speed (unless you'd like a cloud of cocoa dust to come upon you).

 --Turn the mixer off, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and give it another mix.

 --Now for the good part.  Add in the semisweet chocolate chips,

 --As well as the white chocolate chips.  Mix until all the chips are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

 --TRY YOUR VERY BEST TO REFRAIN FROM SNITCHING THIS BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE NO COOKIES LEFT.

[sorry for the yelling]

 --Scoop the cookies onto a cookie sheet using a scooper (it'll save so much time) and allow enough space for the cookies to grow a little.

 --Option for the holiday:  press on a few M&Ms on top of each cookie to add a little color to them!  Then let them bake about 9-11 minutes until formed on the top.

 --Keep them on the cookie sheet about five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

 Happy Valentine's Day!!

XOXO